Port Authorities on Tuesday seized more than 140 kilos of cannabis
found hidden in the back of a truck parked in the port of Corfu island
port.

A total of 143 kilos of cannabis was found packaged in 128 airtight
packets in the back of the parked truck..

In a separate incident in the Athens district of Haidari, Piraeus coast
guard officers arrested two locals aged 25 and 34, together with three
foreign nationals -- a Belgian, an Albanian and a Romanian -- who
police believe, are involved in drug trafficking.

Coalition of the Radical Left, Movements and Ecology (SYN) spokesman
Panos Skourletis, referring to Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos'
announcement of measures against the new flu earlier in the day, said
on Tuesday that "of course the issue of the new flu must not become
another field for petty politics and superficial statements".

"What we must underline, however, are the current New Democracy and
former PASOK governments' responsibilities in failing to establish a
Primary Healthcare system that could act as a shield in facing the new
flu. Of course, they had other priorities, such as to promote the
private interests in the Health sector," Skourletis added.

Health Minister Avramopoulos assured that the entire State mechanism
was prepared and on constant alert regarding the new flu A/H1N1
outbreak, speaking to reporters on Tuesday after briefing Prime
Minister Costas Karamanlis.

He added that all case scenarios were being examined, while he also
stressed that "we will not allow our society to slip into a state of
panic", noting that the government, under the prime minister's
instructions, was operating in an organised and coordinated way.

"The government is unceasingly monitoring the problem and immediately
resolving any matters that arise," Avramopoulos added.

The health minister formally announced that nurseries and kindergartens
will open for the new school year as scheduled, with private
pre-schools opening on August 17 and public pre-schools on September 1,
while the final decision on primary and secondary schools will be taken
following an overall assessment of the situation.

Avramopoulos said that a total of 162,380 cases of the new flu have
been recorded world-wide, among them 1,154 deaths, whereas in Greece
1,002 cases have been confirmed to date, of which 95 percent have
recovered completely "and are back in their homes, in excellent
health".

There are two serious cases in intensive care at the present moment,
the minister said, adding that the previous serious cases are well on
the way to full recovery.

Avramopoulos further said that the dispensation of antiviral medicines
has been deregulated, while the primary healthcare network for the new
flu was being expanded.

As for the program for inoculation of the entire population in Greece
decided by the government, including non-legal residents, Avrampoulos
said that the priority will be the vulnerable (high-risk) population
groups (i.e. childen, elderly, people with health problems), and on
services that are crucial for the operation of the State, including
Armed Forces and Security Corps personnel, local government hygiene
services, the DEKO (public utilities and state organisations), and
large private sector enterprises.

The minister added that the prospect of new flu testing by certified
private laboratories was also being mulled, while the vaccination
operational plans were also in the process of completion, in
collaboration with the Union of Prefectures of Greece (ENAE) and the
Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece (KEDKE).

In Athens, for example, 27 vaccination centers and seven flu clinics
were planned, he explained.

The areas of action, the minister continued, include: mobilisation and
training of human resources; monitoring of inoculation through the use
of technology and software, while a record will be kept of those
vaccinated; back-up for the prefectural and local governments; doubling
of the four-digit '1135' telephone information hotline phone lines; and
establishment of an extensive network of doctors for the inoculation
process.

Also, there will be an immediate addition of 50-60 more intensive care
unit (ICU) beds, Avramopoulos said, adding that it went without saying
that ICUs in private hospitals will also be used if necessary.

Replying to press questions, Avramopoulos said that the exact number of
inoculation centers would be announced soon, but noted indicatively
that there would be some 140-150 such centers in the country's two
largest prefectures, Attica and Thessaloniki. He added that the
vaccination centers would be set up chiefly at schools, and would
operate either on Friday afternoons or throughout the weekends.

The Communist Party of Greece (KKE), in a statement released on Tuesday
commenting on the government's measures on the new flu outbreak in
Greece, charged that "the government, instead of undertaking immediate
measures to fill the immense voids in the state health system in staff
and infrastructures for facing the pandemic, is taking measures that
bear risks for the people's health".

"It is conceding Primary Healthcare to private concerns, and
transferring Health System authorities to local government," the KKE
said, adding that the measures allowing the dispensation of antiviral
medicines by private doctors and diagnosis of the new flu to private
laboratories, as well as the relegation of the vaccination centers to
the municipalities were also along the same lines.

"The Greek people should be worried. The policy that accepts and
supports business activity in Health and the lack of a uniform and
exclusively public Health system not only cost dearly for the people
but also leaves them unprotected," the statement said, adding that the
provision of health services against the new flu must be conducted
under state responsibility and free of charge for everyone, and ensure
the prompt and adequate coverage of all areas.

The KKE called for the immediate operation of mobile vaccination units
to cover schools, work spaces and the social groups in need.

Coalition of the Left Movements and Ecology, (SYNASPISMOS) leader
Alexis Tsipras, on a tour of the northeastern Aegean island of Samos,
on Tuesday met with members of the local tourism industry and discussed
their problems.

After the meeting, Tsipras said "although we are in the middle summer
and in one of the most popular tourist destinations, the economic
crisis is not on vacation.

"On the contrary, it is severely affecting the enterprises and the
small and medium sized businesses, the tourism enterprises and the tens
of thousands of seasonal workers who face the risk of not being paid at
the end of the tourism season," Tsipras added.

"The government, instead of taking initiatives to rejuvenate the
demand, making public investments and boosting the small and medium
size enterprises and drafting programmes on employment, is in fact
occupying itself only in giving 28 billion euros to the bankers and
initiatives to major entrepreneurs in order to exchange the permanent
jobs with flexible work positions. The country needs a radically
different policy, otherwise we will all soon sink in the economic
crisis," he added.

On Wednesday, Alexis Tsipras will visit the mountain town of Mainalos,
in Vytina prefecture, near Tripolis, to discuss matters related to the
conservation and management of the natural resources.

During the visit, Tsipras will tour Mainalos before paying a call on
the Vytina Forest Inspection Service, followed by a visit to the Vytina
town hall, where he will meet with mayor Yiannis Sakellariou.